B.C. gangster Tom Gisby brutally murdered in Mexico

Kim Bolan, Vancouver Sun04.30.2012

B.C. gangster Tom Gisby has been gunned down at a Starbucks in Mexico. Gisby, 47, has been involved in the drug trade in BC for more than 20 years. He has links to both the Hells Angels and Dhak group.Nayarit en Linea

B.C. gangster Tom Gisby has been gunned down at a Starbucks in Mexico. Gisby, 47, has been involved in the drug trade in BC for more than 20 years. He has links to both the Hells Angels and Dhak group.Nayarit en Linea

B.C. gangster Tom Gisby has been gunned down at a Starbucks in Mexico. Gisby, 47, has been involved in the drug trade in BC for more than 20 years. He has links to both the Hells Angels and Dhak group.Nayarit en Linea

BC gangster Tom Gisby has been gunned down in Mexico. Gisby, 47, has been involved in the drug trade in BC for more than 20 years. He has links to both the Hells Angels and Dhak group.Vancouver Sun
/ Handout

Chief Superintendent Dan Malo, the Officer in Charge of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit announces at a press conference at RCMP federal building in Surrey on Saturday Arril 28, 2012 that Thomas Gisby, a high ranking BC ganster was killed in Mexico.Les Bazso
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Slain B.C. resident Tom Gisby left for Mexico in late January after learning he might be targeted in retaliation for the August shooting in Kelowna that left Jonathan Bacon dead, The Vancouver Sun has learned.

And Gisby knew of the threat against him even before his motorhome was firebombed Jan. 16 near Whistler, an attack in which the 47-year-old suffered superficial burns.

Gisby was gunned down in a Starbucks in Nuevo Vallarta at 9 a.m. Saturday by two gunmen who fled the scene.

Now police in B.C. are on high alert, fearing a gang war that started in Metro Vancouver is spilling over into Mexico.

The January attempt on Gisby's life came the same day that a B.C. gangster in the United Nations gang, Salih Abdulaziz Sahbaz, was shot to death in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

Just a day later, back in Vancouver, gangster Sandip Duhre was gunned down in the lobby of the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver.

All three dead men had connections to a loose group of gangsters known as the Dhak-Duhre-UN group that was blamed for the Kelowna shooting by a rival alliance made up of Bacon's Red Scorpions, some Hells Angels and some in the Independent Soldiers.

Supt. Dan Malo, head of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said Sunday that Gisby did have links to the deadly dispute that has left several dead and injured across B.C. and in Mexico in recent months.

And Malo confirmed that some associates of Gisby's were among the high-profile gangsters who have been warned by police in recent weeks that they could be targeted.

Asked specifically if police in B.C. had intelligence about a plot to kill Gisby, Malo said: "I am not going to share that."

Malo did speak out about Gisby's shooting to warn the public of escalating gang tensions that could result in more violence.

And Malo wanted those involved in the violence to know that gang specialists within his agency will be targeting them with stepped-up surveillance and enforcement.

Despite the possibility that Gisby was killed in response to other B.C. gang slayings, Malo said the motive is still unknown.

Gisby, a major international drug trafficker, had connections with several criminal organizations and a multitude of enemies, Malo told The Sun.

"Is it a case of a hit and miss and then they kept on him?" Malo said. "Were they hunting him? I am sure he had more than one enemy."

Malo said the RCMP's E Division would be following up with Mexican police to see if they want any assistance in the probe.

And the CFSEU will be increasing resources in gathering intelligence on the gang scene in B.C., as well as stepping up enforcement against those willing to use violence in the lengthy local dispute.

"We have visited many of these high-profile gang members and had discussions with them," Malo said, adding police intervention has prevented shootings in B.C. in recent weeks.

Gisby was born in the Fraser Valley, but owned property in downtown Vancouver.

He had been involved in the B.C. drug trade for more than 20 years and had connections with major crime figures from the Hells Angels to the Dhak group.

In fact, the late Gurmit Dhak, who was gunned down outside Metrotown mall in October 2010, was very close to Gisby.

It was Dhak's 2010 murder that led to a series of tit-for-tat shootings across B.C. as traffickers broke into two loosely formed rival groups.

Gisby had connections on both sides in the conflict, so felt he would not be targeted.

But that all changed after the Kelowna shooting when Hells Angel Larry Amero was wounded and the niece of a Hells Angel chapter president was paralyzed from the neck down.

Gisby had connections in Mexico that made him feel secure despite the drug-fuelled violence in that country.

"Gisby has been dealing with Mexicans and Colombians directly for over 20 years," a police source said. "It is very unlikely he didn't know how to stay on their good side in business after that long. He was a good businessman and experienced in the cocaine importation world."

The source also said Gisby was a suspect in a number of drug-related murders in B.C., though he had never faced charges.

"He was wise, but also ruthless," the source said.

Gisby had a criminal record in B.C. dating back to the 1980s. He was convicted in 1991 of trafficking four kilos of cocaine. He had a 2005 conviction for income tax fraud and others for uttering threats and driving while suspended.

And he was involved in several civil suits - some recent ones over properties he had agreed to purchase.

Gisby is the sixth B.C. man with links to the drug trade gunned down in Mexico in recent years.

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